This invention relates to a method for installation of a cured in place liner into an existing conduit by pulling in and inflating the liner and more particularly to a method of trenchless rehabilitation of an existing conduit by pulling into the existing conduit a resin impregnated liner and everting a reusable inflation bladder into the liner and to the apparatuses for practicing the method.
It is generally well known that conduits or pipelines, particularly underground pipes, such as sanitary sewer pipes, storm sewer pipes, water lines and gas lines that are employed for conducting fluids frequently require repair due to fluid leakage. The leakage may be inward from the environment into the interior or conducting portion of the pipe. Alternatively, the leakage may be outward from the conducting portion of the pipe into the surrounding environment. In either case, it is desirable to avoid this leakage.
The leakage may be due to improper installation of the original pipe, or deterioration of the pipe itself due to normal aging or to the effects of conveying corrosive or abrasive material. Cracks at or near pipe joints may be due to environmental conditions such as earthquakes or the movement of large vehicles or similar natural or man made vibrations, or other such causes. Regardless of the cause, such leakages are undesirable and may result in waste of the fluid being conveyed within the pipeline, or result in damage to the surrounding environment and in a possible creation of a dangerous public health hazard. If the leakage continues it can lead to structural failure of the existing conduit due to loss of soil and side support of the conduit.
Because of ever increasing labor and machinery costs, it is increasingly more difficult and less economical to repair underground pipes or portions that may be leaking by digging up and replacing the pipes. As a result, various methods had been devised for the in place repair or rehabilitation of the existing pipelines. These new methods avoid the expense and hazard associated with digging up and replacing the pipes or pipe sections, as well as the significant inconvenience to the public. One of the most successful pipeline repair or trenchless rehabilitation processes that is currently in wide use is called the Insituform(copyright) Process and is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,009,063, 4,064,211 and 4,135,958, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In the standard practice of the Insituform Process an elongated flexible tubular liner of a felt fabric, foam or similar resin impregnable material with an outer impermeable coating and has been impregnated with a thermosetting curable resin is installed within the existing pipeline. Generally, the liner is installed utilizing an everting process, as described in the later two identified Insituform patents. In the eversion process, radial pressure applied to the interior of an everted liner presses it against and into engagement with the inner surface of the pipeline. However, it is also practiced by pulling the impregnated liner into the conduit by a rope or cable and using a separate fluid impermeable inflation bladder or tube that is everted within the liner to cause the liner to cure against the inner wall of the existing pipe. Such resin impregnated liners are generally referred to as cured-in-place-pipes or xe2x80x9cCIPP linersxe2x80x9d and the installation of the CIPP liners is referred to a CIPP installation.
The CIPP flexible tubular liners have a smooth layer of relatively flexible, substantially impermeable polymer layer coating the outside of the liner in its initial state. When everted this impermeable layer ends up on the inside of the liner after the liner is everted during installation. As the flexible liner is installed in place within the pipeline, the pipeline is pressurized from within, preferably utilizing a fluid such as water to force the liner radially outwardly to engage and conform to the interior surface of the existing pipeline. The resin which has been impregnated to the impregnable material is then cured to form a hard, tight fitting rigid pipe lining within the existing pipeline. The new liner effectively seals any cracks and repairs any pipe section or pipe joint deterioration in order to prevent further leakage either into or out of the existing pipeline. The cured resin also serves to strengthen the existing pipeline wall so as to provide added structural support for the surrounding environment.
When the tubular liners are installed by pull in and inflate, the liner is impregnable and positioned within the existing pipeline in a collapsed state. A down tube, inflation pipe or conduit having an elbow at the lower end typically is positioned within an existing manhole or access point and an everting bladder is passed through the down tube, opened up and cuffed back over the mouth of the horizontal portion of the elbow. The collapsed liner within the existing conduit is then positioned over and secured to the cuffed back end of the inflation bladder. An everting fluid, such as water is then fed into the down tube and the water pressure causes the inflation bladder to push out of the horizontal portion of the elbow and cause the collapsed liner to expand against the interior surface of the existing conduit. The eversion of the inflation bladder continues until the bladder reaches and extends into the down stream manhole or second access point. At this time the liner pressed against the interior surface of the existing conduit is allow to cure. Typically, cure is initiated by introduction of hot water into the inflation bladder which is circulated to cause the resin in the impregnated liner to cure.
After the resin in the liner cures, the inflation bladder may be removed or left in place in the cured liner. If the inflation bladder is to be left in place, the bladder will generally be one that has a relatively thin resin impermeable outer layer after eversion to cause the bladder to adhere to the resin impregnated layer of the liner as is well known in the art. At this time, entry into the manhole or access point is required to open the liner to release the water used to inflate the bladder and to cut off the ends extending into the manholes. When the inflation bladder is to be removed, it may be removed by pulling on a holdback rope attached to the trailing end of the inflation bladder which is used to control the speed of the eversion. This is generally done after puncturing the bladder to release the water used to evert the bladder and initiate the resin cure. Finally, the down tube can then be removed and service can be reconnected through the lined pipeline. If intersecting service connections are present, they would be reopened prior to resumption of service through the lined pipeline.
When a cured in place liner is installed using the pull in and inflate method, the outer impermeable layer of the liner remains pressed against the interior surface of the existing conduit. Certain advantages may be attained by this method of installation because the resin in the resin impregnable layer of the liner is trapped between two impermeable layers, namely the outercoating and the inflation bladder, so that there is little or no resin migration out of the liner. Additionally, in a pull in and inflate installation, the liner coating need not be as strong as required in an installation by eversion, because the coating is not subjected to the pressure head require to evert the liner using the eversion process and does not come into contact with hot fluid circulation during the resin cycle. Thus, the liner tends to be of more uniform thickness in a pull in and inflate using an inflation bladder cured in place process compared to when the liner itself is everted.
While the pull in and inflate method has these advantages, the installation process is somewhat more complex. It requires banding the inflation bladder to the down tube elbow and banding the collapsed liner already positioned in the existing pipeline to the down tube. This requires work within a restricted manhole space. Additionally, at the end of the installation, the inflation bladder may need to be removed after being cut at the distal end to release the inflation fluid. Finally, different length bladders must be used for a different length conduits.
While the pull in and inflate method does have various advantages, the shortcomings tend to increase the labor costs which are a significant aspect of the installation process. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a rehabilitation method using a pull in and inflate liner installation method which is more efficient economically than the methods currently practiced.
Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, a method of rehabilitation of an existing pipeline by pull in and inflate installation of cured in place liners using a reusable inflation bladder is provided. The liner arriving on the job site may be in a length in excess of the single section to be lined. It is pulled into the existing conduit and cut at the ends to extend into both manholes. An inflation bladder in a length at least as long as the pipeline to be lined and a flexible starter sleeve preattached to an inflation elbow are lowered into one manhole, placed into the collapsed liner and everted. After the resin in the liner is cured, the inflation bladder is retracted, stored and available for reuse in the next installation. The bladder may be conveniently stored and rewound on an inflation bladder spool and is withdrawn from the cured liner by a power spool. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heated water in the inflation bladder is pumped out of the bladder through the elbow as the bladder is withdrawn and recycled for reuse.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, an easement vehicle carries a spooled inflation bladder to the upstream access and includes a three way valve for applying pressurized fluid to the everting inflation bladder for inflation and curing of the liner and removed of the fluid after cure. In the most preferred aspect of the invention, the inflation fluid is heated water which is inserted to the inflation bladder at an elbow at the access to the existing pipeline. After cure and when the inflation bladder is rewound on the inflation bladder reel, the heated water is returned into the water inlet and pumped into the hot water storage maintained above ground level. This allows for the easy reuse of the inflation bladder and conserves energy by reusing the heated water used to cure the liner.
Accordingly, it is the object of the invention to provide an improved method for rehabilitation of an existing pipeline by the installation of a cured in place liner by the pull in and inflate method utilizing an endless inflation bladder.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method for pull in and inflate installation of a cured in place liner by providing an endless inflation bladder mounted on a bladder reel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved method of installation of a cured in place liner by pull in and inflate wherein heated water used to inflate and cure the liner is withdrawn for reuse as the inflation bladder is removed.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an improved easement unit including an inflation bladder reel for storing inflation bladder to be used in the pull in and inflate installation method.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved easement unit for use in the installation of cured in place liner by the pull in and inflate method including a three way valve for introducing heated water for eversion and cure of the liner and for removal of the heated water after cure when the inflation bladder is withdrawn.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide continuous circulation of the hot water to the easement unit to assure that the hot water pumped into the inflation bladder will be at the proper temperature even when the easement unit is remote from the hot water supply unit.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will impart the obvious and impart the apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to the others, and the apparatuses possessing the features, properties and relation of elements which are exemplified in the detailed disclosure and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.